SOUTHEAST MISSOURI STATE UNIVERSITY
Environmental Science Program
Environmental Science Research
EV 691, 692, 693
New: 2009
I.
Catalog Description and Credit Hours of Course:
Conduct of a research project in environmental science including design, evaluation,
and relation to current literature. Appropriate summarizing paper required. (1-3)
II.
Prerequisite(s): Admission to the graduate program in Environmental Science and
consent of instructor and Program Director (an abstract of the research problem to be
studied is required for approval by the Program Director.)
III.
Purposes or Objectives of the Course:
A. To acquaint the student with scientific investigative techniques.
B. To provide the student with experience in experimental design, data collection, and
evaluation of results.
C. To provide the student with experience in presentation of a research in written
form.
IV.
Expectations of Students:
The student is expected to plan the proposed research in consultation with the
supervising instructor. An appropriate literature survey is expected prior to the initiation
of the project. Periodic evaluative conferences will be conducted by the supervising
instructor. A summarizing paper (written in the appropriate format) is required.
V.
Course Content:
There is no fixed schedule or specific course content. The student must be aware that
there has to be prior approval of the project, planning must precede data collection, and
the entire project must be done in close cooperation and consultation with the
supervising instructor. Research projects always require many hours of investigation for
each hour of credit.
Credit hours for the research course will be determined on the basis of a minimum of
40 hours of research work per academic credit hour.
VI.
Textbook and/or Supplemental Materials: None
VII.
Basis of Student Evaluation:
A grade in the course will be based on several criteria:
A.
The planning of the project
B.
The carrying out of the project - independence, systematic work habits, regular
consultation, interest, understanding of the work, etc.
C.
The written summarizing paper.
VIII.
Academic Policy Statement:
Students will be expected to abide by the University Policy for Academic Honesty
regarding plagiarism and academic honesty. Refer to:
http://www6.semo.edu/judaffairs/code.html
IX.
Student with Disabilities Statement:
If a student has a special need addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
and requires materials in an alternative format, please notify the instructor at the
beginning of the course. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate special
needs.